Soup
by Drosselmeyer's Ancestor
Summary: Yuki's sick, Haru calls upon the other resident human to help, specifically, he calls Natsuki to the scene.


The soup is simmering, and Natsuki stirs it for a moment before bringing a spoon up to his lips. It's a little salty, but that's good - it's got a strong flavor, that means, so he'll most likely eat it.

"Haru? Haru!" He yells, and the sound of steps coming down the hall get louder until the blond alien is jumping into the kitchen, excited as usual.

"What? What is it?"

"Which room is Yuki's?" Truth be told, he remembers which room, but he figures asking Haru won't hurt anyone - especially Yuki, who probably doesn't need the noise.

Haru points down the hall, then makes a gesture to the right. "There, Prince~!"

"Don't call me that." Natsuki sighs, but his smile negates the coldness of the words. "Is he asleep?"

"I don't know, I didn't look." Haru looks at the flowers as he says this, pressing his fingers into the soil.

With a slight shake of his head, Natsuki sighs once again. Haru pouts in his direction.

"I told you I didn't know what to do!" He whines. Natsuki nods, not wanting to argue with the alien boy. Haru still pouts for a moment, then breaks out into a smile. "But that's why you're here! I have to water the plants for Kate today~ She said that she needed to go out shopping, since Yuki's sick. You'll take care of him, right? You'll make Yuki feel better again, right? That's why you came, right?"

The questions come fast and prod at Natsuki's side, he frowns. "I didn't say that. I just wanted to make sure he didn't need to go to the hospital or something."

"But you're cooking and everything!" Haru whines again. "Natsuki! Make Yuki better! Make him better!"

Natsuki presses his fingers to his forehead and says, loudly, "Just go water the plants!"

"Ah, fine..." Haru exits through the side door, cheerfully shouting, "Make him better Prince, please!"

"Maybe I shouldn't have come." Is what Natsuki mutters as he ladles soup into a bowl. But he knows that he would've ended up coming anyways - he can't help but check up on the redhead. Especially when Haru is here, but Kate isn't. It's a recipe for disaster.

He doesn't dwell on the thought though, instead deciding to focus on the matters at hand - soup, and Yuki. He makes his way down the hall at a steady pace, trying not to spill the soup, but at the same time, get there fast as possible.

Carefully he opens the door, if Yuki's asleep then he doesn't want to bother him. But Yuki is up, though bleary-eyed, flipping through a magazine absentmindedly.

The sight is oddly endearing, Natsuki inwardly cringes when the thought appears. That, that wasn't what he meant.

"Oi, are you alright?" He sounds gruff, he knows, but the stiffness isn't because he's irritated, except maybe at himself.

Yuki starts at the sound of his voice. "Natsuki? What are you doing here?"

His throat sounds dry, and he's pink from fever. Avoiding eye contact, Natsuki answers, "Haru kept asking me to come and help, since he didn't know what to do." A lie, not a big one, nothing major. He just suddenly can't bring himself to say 'I came because I heard you were sick'.

"Oh. You didn't have to..."

"I had nothing better to do than go home, and I'd rather not do that. It's not a big deal." That's the truth. Yuki looks concerned for a moment - but decides, it seems, not to ask. Natsuki doesn't say, but he's grateful for that.

"Anyways, I brought soup." Yuki winces. Natsuki is torn between amusement and exasperation. "You have to eat something, you know."

"I know, but..." He nibbles on his bottom lip, just slightly. "...What kind is it?"

"Just broth, mostly. Try it."

Yuki looks unwilling. Natsuki rolls his eyes, then sits down, tray with bowl in hand. "Come on, we both know you need to eat."

Still unwilling, Yuki frowns. "What if I ate later...?"

"No, now." Years of dealing with a sibling has told Natsuki that 'later' means 'never' in this case, and he isn't about to let his hard work go to waste, nor is he going to let Yuki go to waste. "Come on."

There's a long pause, maybe a minute or two, and then Natsuki decides that this is a case of needing to take the matter into his own hands. He shrugs his shoulders and sets the tray down on the table by the bed.

"Fine. Do what you want." He says nonchalantly.

Right as the tension drops, he picks up the spoon and shoves it into Yuki's mouth, mid "Thanks-"

It's not like the broth is too hot, Natsuki checked himself. Yuki looks flabbergasted, spoon in mouth for a few seconds before swallowing.

"Natsuki, what- why would you do that!" He sputters.

Calmly, Natsuki gets another spoonful and, mindful of how the heat sinks, blows gently. "You wouldn't have eaten it if I didn't, right?"

The silence tells all. "...I would have eventually." Yuki mutters. "Sure you would've." Natsuki answers. "Now take the second spoonful. It's not bad, right?"

"No, it's not. It's...Really good actually...Did you make this?" He accepts the spoonful cautiously, and Natsuki swirls the liquid around in the bowl before getting yet another spoonful.

"It's easy to make." Is all he replies before sending another spoonful Yuki's way. It's accepted without resistance.

"You're really good at cooking, Natsuki. So cool..." Yuki murmurs.

There's silence.

"...Uhm." Natsuki says, because that's really all he can think._ Cool? Since when was cooking cool? Wait, did he just call me cool?_

"I- Uh-" And then there's the face again, the 'stone fish' face as dubbed by Ayumi, and Natsuki pushes the spoon into his now gaping mouth, hoping the broth calms him down. It does. He swallows it quickly.

Before he can ramble apologies - or something more awkward, Natsuki says, "Thanks."

Yuki blushes red in embarassment, so much that it spreads to him, and he turns away and mumbles, "Calm down, it's not that big a deal!", swirling the soup again. Desperate for something to do, he takes another spoonful and guides it towards Yuki in an attempt to dodge anymore awkwardness.

Haru pops in at just that moment, exclaiming, "See, I knew you would make Yuki feel better!" And Natsuki barely doesn't drop the spoon, startled. There's a wide-eyed stare at the both of them before Haru giggles, then asks, concerned, "Natsuki, you're feeding Yuki? Is he really that sick?"

It takes incredible willpower to not stand up and leave right then and there, but Natsuki manages. Barely. His dignity, however, had apparently gotten up and left.

And he can't even bear to look at Yuki.

Haru smiles at the both of them once again. "Keep it up, Natsuki! Make Yuki feel better!" And then exits the scene again, singing the song to the Enoshima dance - which was what got them into this in the first place, Natsuki remembers, but can't really think about over the overwhelmingly awkward atmosphere.

Both of them look in different directions, Natsuki to the left and Yuki at his hands. With care, Natsuki drops the spoon in the bowl.

"You, you'll, you'll eat it later, right?" He asks, looking at the door.

"Y-yeah. Right." Yuki answers, mumbling. Natsuki doesn't dare check to see if he's biting his lip again.

"Then I'll, um, take my leave...?" _Oh god, just leave._

"Okay."

He walks to the hallway and shuts the door behind him, stiff as a board. But he can't seem to control his mouth when he says, "Call me if you need something."

"O-okay!" is the answer through the door, and when he sinks down to the floor he doesn't acknowledge the heat he feels on his face or the burning in his hands.

[[de-anoning from the kink meme]]


End file.
